The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is a nonprofit Americanmedical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 2,700 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and administrative and other staff, making it among the largest private, non-profit biomedical research organizations in the world.

TSRI's roots can be traced to the Scripps Metabolic Clinic, founded near the current site in the La Jolla area of San Diego in 1924 by the philanthropistEllen Browning Scripps, who was inspired by the discovery of insulin. In 1946, the metabolic clinic separated from Scripps Memorial Hospital.

In 1956, the organization was renamed Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation to reflect its broader focus and management's renewed commitment to biomedical research. Harvard biochemist A. Baird Hastings joined the institute in 1959, followed by immunologist Frank J. Dixon and four of his colleagues (William Weigle, Joseph Feldman, Charles Cochrane, and Jacinto Vazquez) in 1961, biochemist Frank Huennekens and microbiologist John Spizizen in 1962, then other scientists. Dixon was appointed director of research operations in 1970, and in 1977 these operations assumed the name of The Research Institute of Scripps Clinic.[1]

Upon Dixon's retirement in 1986, Richard Lerner, who had been chair of the Scripps Department of Molecular Biology, was appointed the research institute's new director. Lerner continued to expand the institute, both in size and reputation. In 1989, the institute launched a graduate program. In 1991, as the result of a merger of hospitals, the research branch became part of a larger organization, the Scripps Institutions of Medicine and Science. In 1993, the research division separated from the clinical side, becoming an independent nonprofit organization under the name of The Scripps Research Institute.[1] Plans for an additional campus in Florida were announced in October 2003 and research operations began there the next year.

Michael Marletta became president and CEO on January 1, 2012, assuming the position from Lerner, who remains a member of the TSRI faculty.[2] Marletta announced his resignation on July 21, 2014 and James C. Paulson was subsequently appointed acting president and CEO.

In February 2017 venture capitalist John Diekman was named chairman of the board.[5]

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography is often incorrectly associated with TSRI; it is in fact a nearby research facility that is part of UCSD. TSRI is a private nonprofit institute not directly associated with UCSD. Confusingly, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was once called the Scripps Institution for Biological Research.

The Scripps Research Institute was noted as a standout in the Science Watch survey of "high-impact" papers in chemistry (1997 - 2008), ranked number one worldwide by citations per paper.[6]

Another measure of productivity, the Hirsch index (which has been published by Chemistry World), placed six TSRI scientists— Wüthrich, Sharpless, Lerner, Yates, Schultz, and Chi-Huey Wong—in the top 100 of 2,000 chemists rated. Science Watch placed Sharpless within the Top 10 list of its "Top 100 Chemists 2000-2010" based on citations impact; other faculty in the list were the late Carlos F. Barbas and John R. Yates.[19]

The graduate program at TSRI started in 1989 as the Macromolecular and Cellular Structure and Chemistry (MCSC) Program. A program in Chemistry followed three years after the establishment of the MCSC Program. In 2003, TSRI redefined the curriculum to allow and encourage students to sculpt course loads in an interdisciplinary manner. In 2005, TSRI's graduate program expanded to encompass the Jupiter, Florida campus. Today approximately 300 graduate students are enrolled in the program, which offers doctoral degrees in the chemical and biological sciences. In addition to its Ph.D. programs, TSRI offers a master's degree in the discipline of Clinical and Translational Investigation (MCTI) for physician-scientists. The institute also administers the Skaggs-Oxford Scholarship program, which enables students to pursue a joint Ph.D./D.Phil. with the University of Oxford.

The most recent graduate school rankings by U.S. News & World Report places TSRI's program as 7th in chemistry (2nd in biochemistry, 6th in organic chemistry) and 9th in biological sciences.[22]

Florida Atlantic University started a new medical school in association with Scripps Florida, ending its relationship with the University of Miami's medical school. The first students entered the new program in fall 2011.[23] Previously, TSRI and the Scripps Health hospital network explored the idea of starting a medical school in California,[24] but this project did not come to fruition.

The grand opening of the new facility took place on February 26, 2009, five years after Scripps Florida started operating, with a public ceremony that drew many dignitaries including then Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

The establishment of the Scripps Florida campus was made possible by a one-time $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds and by the Florida State Legislature and by an economic package provided by Palm Beach County.[27]